My family of four has the tradition of eating lunch every Sunday with my parents and my mother-in-law, a meal that we call FamFest. It’s our way of prioritizing time together in the midst of our busy lives. However, I all too often inhale my lunch, shovel dessert into my mouth, and jump up to clean the dishes before running out the door to prepare for our afternoon church service. Often, my mom tells me not to worry about the cleanup, a request that I ignore so I don’t leave her with extra work. One memorable day, however, she said, “Michael, I would rather have FamFest be about time with . . . my family.”

Duh. That should have been obvious, right? After all, it’s right there in the name!

I tell you that story because the same thing can happen at Christmas. In the midst of wish lists, mall traffic, tree decoration, cookie baking, card writing, party attending, ugly sweater wearing, interstate traveling, and Elf on the Shelf hiding, we can rush through the season with barely enough time to catch our breath. I wonder, in those moments, if our Father wouldn’t say something like my mother—“Child, I would rather have Christmas be about time with . . . Christ.”

“Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord” (Luke 2:11). Please say no to a few good things this season so you have time to say yes to the best thing—pondering the peace that comes through the Messiah, our Lord.